If all Frontier Records' Lisa Fancher did was release 2 records, The s/t debut by The Adolescents and the sophomore effort from San Francisco's American Music Club (ENGINE) then I would have been satisfied for the rest of my life (x100) but she released those and many, many others. Read on folks..


Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Sun Valley, CA. A small awful place right next to Burbank airport that no one knows exists, even locals.

What was your introduction to music? Parents records? Friends?
I have three older sisters, well actually two now and they were all music fiends with good and varied taste. Growing up in the '60s we were all British Invasion crazy and drove my poor parents insane screaming at the TV set almost every night. They bought tons of LPs and 45s so I listened to the best of soul music as well as Dylan and "heavier" fare. My oldest sister even saw the Velvet Underground at the Whisky and gave me the 1st LP with the banana sticker still attached!

How did the label begin? What was your inspiration?
My inspiration was feeling like I was directionless. I worked at Bomp and wrote for local papers but I already flunked out of college so I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. Of course a record label isn't a career but I thought somehow it seemed more substantial to back a band's music instead of just writing about how great they were.

Since Bomp got paid very late by its distributors, I got paid late as well and sometimes got 4 paychecks at once. I was a Flyboys fan and interviewed them for the LA Herald Examiner after hearing Crayon World. They told me they didn't have anyone to release their next record so it was about as involved as saying "what the heck, I'll do it!"

What sort of experience did you have in the music biz at that point? Did you feel as a woman in the punk scene you were fighting an uphill battle?
I had zero experience in the music business before starting the label. I was around for some very unpleasant things that happened to the Runaways, including Micki Steele being kicked out for not being blonde and girly enough. Greg Shaw made some deals that seemed sensible on paper but were nightmarish when implemented, I think outside investors always made me wary. Maybe even sometimes when that shouldn't have been my attitude!

I wish I had better stories to tell about being shut down for being female but it really never happened. At least to my face. I'm not even sure people ever knew who owned Frontier. I would say much more than being female my biggest detriment was being unable to fit in the music business. There were several offers of being assisted by a major label but I realized I would have to sacrifice not only my autonomy but a lot of the band's artistic freedom, which is the whole point of me doing this label. It would have been great to have a successful major label deal a la Sub Pop or Matador but clearly, that's never going to happen.


How did it come about that you released all these great punk records (Adolescents, Suicidal, Circle Jerks, etc.). Did no one else want to do it or did they specifically want to work with you?
There was a much clearer field for me in those days. There was pretty much Slash, SST and Posh Boy. All were doing their own thing which was slightly different than hardcore. Of course Posh Boy recorded tracks with many of these bands before I got involved but after working with Robbie once, they never considered working with him again. I like to think I have great taste, that's why I wound up with the bands that I did. Much credit must also be given to my unofficial A&R man, Frank Agnew, as he insisted I sign TSOL and Christian Death.

What is your favorite LA punk record of that era?
Anything by Redd Kross. Before that, the Weirdos were my favorite LA punk band, followed closely by the Screamers. Too bad I couldn't pull off having a label in the late '70s…

Anyone you almost signed but didn't but wish you would have?
The big one that got away was the Pixies. I can't tell you how close I really was but I was pretty close… I was the first person from a record company that ever saw them, I flew out to TT the Bears in Boston. They wanted an EP out in fall of '87 but I had already committed to releasing AMC and Flying Color. Even if I wanted to add a 3rd project, I didn't have the funds. In retrospect I should have even if it failed! When their manager Ken Goes told me they were releasing a record on Rough Trade, I just walked around in a coma for weeks. I'm thrilled they became an international sensation though, don't get me wrong.

What were Suicidal like to work with? They had sort of a violent reputation?
I just made the one record with them and it went off without a hitch. I think we made it in five days? I don't know if they had a violent reputation as much as their fans. Their fans were the real deal. In that era the only time I saw Suicidal play was at Perkins Palace and their fans destroyed most of the seats and the band was banned from playing in L.A. for many years.

How did you come to work with more pop bands later on , like A.M.C., Flying Color, etc. Were the Frontier fans dismayed in any way?
Oh definitely a lot of kids totally went sour on the label when I signed the Three O'Clock. I just felt like I mined the best of the punk scene at that point and that was 1983! I never stopped liking punk, I just found it pretty derivative after the first and second wave. Maybe until Jawbreaker came around? There's people that have never even heard stuff past the early hardcore which is a shame because Thin White Rope is one of the greatest bands that ever existed, whatever label they were on.

I think A.M.C.'s ENGINE is one of the great records ever. What is your opinion of it? How did you come to work with them?
You and me both, brother. When I heard that record I knew I would die if I didn't release it. Like I'm not kidding: DIE. I've known Hector Penalosa for a long time and I made a deal with Tom Mallon of Grifter Records to release the Flying Color LP. As we were discussing the artwork and mastering etc, Tom said I should listen to AMC because they were pretty interesting. Like totally downplayed how life altering they were.

They definitely defined critical darlings as I've almost never seen a band get better press and sell fewer records. But I would never have it any other way… Mark's songs really have the ability to change people's lives and to emotionally affect them—I find that so gratifying. How do I explain that a phenomenon like that is not about money, that almost makes it dirty. You can see I never went to business school!

What was Frontier doing in the 90's?
Still being AWESOME? The '90s were a mean decade. I think we still put out great records by great bands, the last of TWR, YFFs and Dharma Bums but also Flop and Heatmiser. I consider discovering Elliott Smith something! Put out great punk compilations by the Weirdos and the Dangerhouse label. Alas for me I was so weakened by the many distributor bankruptcies of the '80s that I made three very bad distribution deals in a row. Once again, looks good on paper but when you're the wrong label in the wrong place at the wrong time… it's terrifying. I hadn't had a day job in like 20 years and I found myself writing copy for Sublime at MCA Records in 1998. One never develops a big ego this way.

And 2000's? Are you signing any new bands or mainly doing reissues at this point?
More punk compilations, really. I don't have any interest in trying to sign and develop new bands. There's so many records and so many labels I don't even know how you'd even make an impact these days… Right now I'm just trying to stay afloat but we have all kinds of great stuff in the pipeline. Repackaged remastered Christian Death OTOP, YES LA lp (yes, silkscreened like the original), the Stains debut LP that was on SST, long out of print. Etc!


What are some current bands that excite you?
I stumble across new bands all the time, hard to remember but I LOVE the Marked Men. RIP. Discovered them after they broke up. I'm listening to a new band called Tab The Band, all their songs sound like "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" but that's not such a bad thing. I love Cee Lo Green, greatest voice since Solomon Burke. Love Zola Jesus. Love Handsome Furs and by extension, Wolf Parade. King Khan & BBQ Show. I love to discover new bands that don't sound like other bands! Help me out, people. I must confess that I mostly buy UK British psyche compilations from the mid to late '60s. At least I ain't stealin' them! Ouch. Touche.

Top 10 desert island discs?
Rocket from the Crypt – Circa Now
Mott the Hoople- All the Young Dudes
Mark Lanegan- Winding Sheet
Damned- Machine Gun Etiquette
Kinks- Something Else/Face to Face
Bobby Fuller- KRLA King of the Wheels
Idle Race- The Birthday
David Bowie- Ziggy Stardust
Associates- 4th Drawer Down
Serge Gainsbourg- Les Annees Psychedelique


Anything you'd like to add that I didn't ask?
Why didn't a major label offer you, Lisa Fancher, a fabulous deal with carte blanche signing powers and a fantastic paycheck? This is the question that haunts mankind.

Even though I didn't deserve it, it's not too late.